By James Heinz
In the early morning hours of May 13, 1978, the British freighter PHOTINIA was anchored off Milwaukee harbor awaiting the arrival of a tugboat with a hawser big enough to tow the ship into the harbor.
Nature had other plans for her.
Photo at top of page: PHOTINIA grounded off St. Francis, Wis., June 28 1978
A violent storm with 58 mph large winds blew the ship, with its anchor dragging along, about 4.3 miles south of the harbor, where PHOTONIA ran aground. She stuck firmly in the mud just southeast of the now gone Lakeshore Power Plant in St. Francis. Her crew was evacuated by Coast Guard helicopter and no one was injured or died.
PHOTINIA rescue of crew, May 13, 1978
PHOTINIA would remain stuck in the mud until she was pulled free by six tugboats on July 7, 1978. During that time, she was boarded by various people. Two of those people were WMHS member Frederick Wenzel and his father, who was a representative of the shipping line. Fred and his father collected several items from the ship. Recently, Fred donated some of these items to WMHS.
The items include a life ring, a clock, a compass and it’s cover from the bridge wing, a porthole, and an odd looking red object that was once tied to a life ring and would have floated upright with a magnesium flare at the end, as well as 4 lifejackets of the type the crew can be seen wearing in photos taken after their rescue.
Jim Heinz modeling one of the life jackets
A wooden plaque that was on the bridge that displayed PHOTINIA’s Morse code call sign GHLR had coincidentally been donated to WMHS a few months before Fred Wenzel walked in the door.
PHOTINIA was launched in 1960 at a British shipyard on the Tyne River in England. She was 480 feet long and 60 feet wide. From 1962 to 1965 she served as a cable layer and was then converted back into her original bulk carrier form.
She came to the Great Lakes in 1966 and continued without incident until she met her end on the shores of St. Francis in 1978. At the time of his rescue, her captain said he had been in the British merchant marine for 30 years and that the storm that wrecked his ship was the worst one he ever saw.
PHOTINIA was abandoned to her salvagers who towed her to Sturgeon Bay, Wis., hoping to repair her. However, upon examination, she was found to be too badly damaged for a ship 17 years into her expected 20 year life span to be worth salvaging. Her new owners held an estate sale for her removable items and after that she was towed to and scrapped at Kewaunee, Wis.
———————————
James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.
Photo Credit: Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society. Photos of artifacts provided by author
